Why Canes Fans Should Be Happy

By Jeff Fox

Canes fans may not have realized it but if you looked at the big picture going into Saturday night’s Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Game, Miami was already a huge winner. This season regardless of how it ends can only be deemed an enormous success.

If anyone told you that Miami would go 10-2 prior to this season and end up in a major bowl, every single one of you would have been thrilled with that outcome. Let us also remember that this is only head coach Mark Richt’s second season.

Yes i watched with the rest of America as the number one ranked Clemson Tigers pummeled our beloved Hurricanes 38-3. That was extremely disappointing and painful to watch. The team wanted to win this game so badly but simply put they are not there yet. Miami may not be all the way back but they are clearly well on their way. I am most disappointed in some cane fans who perhaps emotional after the loss had the audacity to be critical of the team, or it’s head coach .

How about a little more respect for the defending national champions who are on a level that this young football team is only aspiring to be at ? How about going into a championship game minus your best wide receiver, your best tight end and also your top running back ? This just in, the wildly popular turnover chain is only a prop folks. You need actual players and some very good ones to be competitive with the likes of Clemson.
The Canes went into a gunfight armed with kitchen knives. No bueno.
So lets start by putting the disappointing end to the regular season behind us. Recognize that this team is 10-2 and about to play number six Wisconsin in the Orange Bowl game on our home turf. This is quite a step up from the Micro PC, Russell Athletic or any other pathetic dot com bowl that we have become accustomed to in recent years under the likes of Al Golden.
This football team captured the heart of the entire city and i would imagine incoming recruits also who want to play in these types of games at a big time program. All of the major names of the past , the former players seem to recognize what is going on and so does our competition. They should be afraid, be very afraid. The Canes are coming to reclaim their perch at the top of the college football world.
More evidence of this is Miami winning the Coastal division and playing in the conference championship game for the first time ever. This was Miami’s biggest football game in 15 years. It felt too good to be true. Shockingly the canes were knocking on the door of winning the school’s sixth national championship. Why be upset ? Even in the aftermath of such a horrific loss. Miami is going to play in a major bowl game, just like we used to do. That should make all canes fans very happy.